Mobile building



April 11, 1939. J. .1: WHELAN MOBILE'BUILD ING Original Filed July 8, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet -l Emeniorx- J07? Wield 33 20 fiiorizege April 11, 1939. J. J. WHELAN MOBiLE BUILDING Origihal Filed July 8, 1957 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 pr 11, 1939- J. J. WHE-LA h I 2,154,142

MOBILE BUILDING Original Filed July 8, 1957' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fi rn ya J. J. WHELAN 2,154,142

MOBILE BUILDING Origihal Filed July 8, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 11, 1939.

J. J. WHELAN MOBILE BUILDING April 11 1939.

Original Filed July 8, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 5 5 2 m w. w m

Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES MOBILE BUILDING John J. Whelan, Washington, D. 0., asslgnor to Copper Houses, Inc., New York, N.'Y., a corporation of Maryland Application July 8,1931, Serial No. 152,622

Renewed February 28, 1939 1 'Claim. (oi. 29-1) This invention relates to building construction,

. and more particularly to the construction of mobile buildings. More specifically, the invention relates .to a house, or other building, comprising c one-or more self-contained, mobile, prefabricated building units secured together in cooperative relation.

The primary object of the invention is to pro-- vide a dwelling or a building which is of high quality material and workmanship and yet which may be constructed and sold at a reasonably low price. The above object may be achieved by constructing and erecting self-contained building units at a factory upon av production basis and then transporting said units in their assembled and complete form to a selected site to be there arranged 01' secured together. The construction of the building units at a factory upon a production basis eliminates the losses which normally occur in contract work resulting from the lack of planned coordination of the craftsmen of the various building trades, and the waste of materials which occurs through a failure to preplan the use of the same so as to reduce waste to a minimum. The descriptive term "assembled and complete form used above is intended to convey the idea that the building units are flnished and complete in substantially every respect. That is to say; the units are completely finished exteriorly and interiorly as by papering or painting' and decorating, and contain all of the necessary lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures and heating equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile dwelling house or other building including a plurality of elongated prefabricated building units arranged and constructed so that they may be assembled or secured together in any one of several possible ways or in different relative positions to form a complete building or dwelling house. One-advantage of the above is that the prefabricated building units can be assembled or secured together to form aseries of buildings of different shapes, said shapes being such as to adapt said buildings for use on various and odd-shaped lots. Another advantage of the above is that the prefabricated building units may be relatively arranged with respect to each other to form a house or building that aifords any desired exposure. I

.Another object of the invention is to provide a pluralit of substantially non-similar or unlike prefabricatedbuilding units which may respective y be considered as standard and which units, notwithstanding their'standardization, are mutually cooperative and afford, by simply arranging or disposing one unit in various positions relatively to the other unit, the creation of a I plurality of different styles of dwelling houses, or other buildings.

Another pbject of the invention is to provide a plurality of self-contained, transportable, prefabricated building units which can be secured together in a common horizontal plane in any one of several possible ways to form a one-story dwelling house, or other building.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plurality of completely equipped prefabricated mobile building'units which can be arranged in superposed relation in any one of several possible ways to form a multi-story dwelling house, or other building.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile building or dwelling house consisting of building units that may be prefabricated at a factory and readily and inexpensively transported from said factory to the site upon which they are to be assembled or secured together to form a complete building or dwelling house, or readily and inexpensively transported from one site to another;

Still another object of the invention is to provide a mobile building unit for use in constructing a dwelling house or other building which can be completely fabricated at a factory or plant, and which can be made according to such dimensions as comply with various State trucking regulations so that the unit may be transported in fully assembled and equipped condition over roadsl by suitable trailers. By way of illustration, certain dimensions are herewith given, but it will be understood that these may be altered to meet any variations in existing or newly drawn trucking regulations and to comply with any future changes in said regulations. It has been found that two elongated building units each having a length of approximately twenty-six feet of several possible relative'positions with a mini- .mum of eifort, the union of said building units preferably taking place when one or both of said units rest upon the ground as a foundation, or restupon a 'pre-formed foundation such as one of concrete, masonry, wood, etc.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mobile dwelling house including selfcontained building units equipped with fixtures, such as plumbing fixtures and lighting fixtures, and-having means connected with said fixtures and extending to the exterior of the units for connection to sewer, water, and electric service lines. The above object of the invention is accomplished by constructing one of the units so that-it contains a bathroom and kitchen and all of the plumbing equipment therefor, such as, abathtub, shower, lavatory, toilet, and kitchen-sink. The bathroom and kitchen are preferably arranged adjacent each other so that the piping for the various plumbing fixtures may be located in a pipe-well or a space between the adjacent walls of said rooms. The piping for the plumbing fixtures embodies parts that extend below the subflooring of the unit so that they can be readily and conveniently connected to the water service line and sewer at the site. In addition, each of the building units is equipped with wiring, lighting fixtures and advantageously located light switches, wall outlets, etc. Furthermore, each of 30 for the various lights, switches, and outlets of the particular unit terminate in a common distributing junction box. Each of the units also has an auxiliary junction box connected in parallel with 35 its distributing junction box. All of the junction boxes are located at predetermined relative positions in the respective units and are accessible from the exterior of the units so that service connections from a power line to any-particular 0 desired junction box may be readily made, and

the terminals of one junction box of one unit may be connected to a junction box of the other'unit so that the circuits of the'respective units can be fed through a single service connection,

A still further object of the invention. is to provide a self-contained building unit equipped with plumbing fixtures, and which fixtures have extensions for service connections extending to the exterior of the unit, but which extensions are so arranged that they are substantially protected from damage during transit by the structure of the unit itself.

A still further object of -the invention is to provide a dwelling house or,other building com- M prising a plurality of building units constructed and arranged so that they are substantially rigid and can standthe strain and jarring incidental to handling and transporting such units from a *factorytoa'selectedsitta Other objects and advantages, in addition to those-particularly specified above, will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in ,which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic isometric view show"- I ing the fioor plan of a dwelling houseeonsisting of two non-similar or unlike building units arranged side-by-side; j

Figure 2 is anisometric viewshowing the ex- 70 terior appearance of one style of dwelling house,

or other building, comprising units arranged sideby-slde as denoted in'Figure l;

diagrammatic isometric view showing a fioor plan of another style of dwelling v house comprising the same units'shown in Figthe units is preferably wired so that the circuits ing consisting of two units arranged in superposed relationship as indicated in Figure5 Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the floor plans of the two building units superposed in a relatively difierent position from that shown in Figure 5 to effect still another style of dwelling house;

. Figure 8 is an isometric view of a building or a dwelling house with building units superposed in the mannersignified in Figure '7;

Figure 9 is an isometric view showing the outer appearance of a further style of dwelling house or building comprising two building units arranged in parallel superposed relationship;

Figure 10 is an isometric view of still another possible arrangement of the building units in superposed relationship and at an angle with respect to each other; Figure 11 is a diagrammatic perspectiveview showing a winding stairway that may be used to gain access to the second-story of a building or a dwelling house in which the units are arranged in superposed relationship, as in Figure 10, for example;

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view showing one possible way of connecting the various electrical fixtures of the units to a common distributing junction box, the connection. of the distributing -junction boxes to the auxiliary junction boxes,

and the manner in which the service lines may be connected to the junction box oi'one unit, and

1 current fed from said unit to another unit when said units are arranged side-by-side, as in Figure 1; and

Figure 13 is a sectional view taken on the line il-ll of Figure 1 showing the plumbing fixtures and piping in detail, and particularly the pipe for connection to the water service line and the soil pipe for connection to the sewer.

Referring particularly to. Figures 1 and 2 of comprises two separate, elongated, prefabricated building units arranged side-by-sidein a commonhorizontal plane and generally indicated by the reference numerals 1 and 2, respectively.

When these building units are employed to const'ruct a dwelling house, one of the units prefershown as containing the essential-plumbing fixtures. This unit comprisesa bathroom 3, a kitchen 4, and a room 6 which may serve as a dining the drawings, one form of buildingis shown which 1 roomand/orlivingroom. '1hebathroom'8con- II us ally indicated and,

tains a conventional bathtub 6, lavatory ,I and toilet 8. The kitchen 4 contains a fixture 9 that is in the form of a conventional combination sink and tray. The fixture II is preferably mounted upon the wall of the kitchen adjacent to'the bath- 10 arranged between the refrigerator and stove;

A pipe-well I3 is formed between the adjacent walls of the bathroom 3 and kitchen 4 and is arranged to receive the piping for the kitchen-sink,

shower, vent, etc. A space I4, designed to receive I an apparatus for heating and air conditioning the building units is also located between the bathroom and kitchen as will be described more fully hereinafter. The heating unit is preferably in the form of an electric heater of sufllcient ca.,-' pacity to heatand air condition both units. As

an alternative arrangement, separate relatively small electric heaters and air conditioners may be installed in the individual rooms. It will be understood, of course, that gas or oil heating means may be substituted for the preferred electric heating means. a

A hallway I5 extends longitudinally of the unit I for the full length of the kitchen 3 and bathroom 4, and merges into the dining and/or living room 5. A doorway or opening Ii is formed in one end wall of the unit I at one end of said hallway and constitutes an end-entranceto said unit; A second opening or doorway I1 is formed in one side wall of unit 5 near the oppositeextremity of said hallway and provides a. passageway from unit I to unit 2. A third doorway I8- is formed in the opposite side wall of unit I and provides an entrance to the dining and/or living room 5 from the outside. The bathroom, kitchen and living 49 and/or dining room have suitable windows for l ght and ventilation and these are indicated in the conventional manner and will not be described in detail.

The building unit 2 preferably comprises two rooms li'and 26, respectively, which may serve as bedrooms. However, in the event that the room 8 is used exclusively as a dining room, one of the rooms I9 or 20 may be used as a living room. The unit 2 has an opening II in the form of a doorway and when the units I and 2 are arranged side-by-side, as shown in Figure 1, this opening communicates with the opening or doorway ll of unit I to provide a through passage from unit I to unit 2. The doorways I8, I1 and are located in predetermined positions so that they enable assembly of the units I and 2 inseveral different relative positions and still provide means for gaining ingress and egress from the outside, to unit I and from unit I to unit 2.

co Partitions separate the rooms I9 and 20 and form closets B and 20" opening into saidrooms, respectively. The rooms I! and 22 are further provided with suitable windows for light and ventilation purposes. These windows are conventiontherefore, need not be described in detail. when the units I and 2 are arranged slde-by-side, .as indicated in Figures 1 and 2, entrance to the' building or dwelling may f be had through eitherof the doorways I or'I8.

This will be especially clear from Figure 2.

ri ures's and 4 illustrates. building in which the unit 2 isarranged in a planecommon to the unit I, but substantially perpendicular or at right angles thereto to form a subst V 7 many L-shaped structure. Such structure is ob ously well suited for location upon a triangular plot of ground. With the units arranged as described, it will be clear'f'rom Figure 3, that the doorway or opening I6 of unit I and the doorway or opening iI of unit 2 are placed in cooperative alignment so as of structure, the doorway 2i of the unit 2 is arranged above and offset to the'left of the doorway I6 of unit I. Access to unit 2 from unit I may be gained through a winding stairway generally similar to the stairway 24 illustrated in ure 11, but which stairway winds to the right d is contained in a casing 25. The casing 26 is preferably of a height substantially equal to the combined height of units I. and '2.

As will be clear from Figure 6, the unit 2 overhangs the unit I at its opposite ends, and the over hanging portions 29 and 21 of said unit rest upon and. are supported by columns 28 and 29. respectively. The overhanging portions 28 and 2i, and particularly the overhanging portion 21, provide shade and the portions of the ground directly therebelow may be finished to provide suitable veranda floors, 26* and 21, respectively.

In Figures '7 and 8, the units I and 2 are shown arranged in superposed relation similar to Figures 5 and 6, but with the unit 2 shifted relatively to the unit I so that the opening 2i of unit 2 is oflset to the right of the doorway It oiunit I, instead of to the left. This arrangement provides an overhanging portion 3! of greater extent than the overhang 2'5 and the unit 2 requires support by only one set of columns 30 as, distinguished from the two sets of columns as and 2t requiredwhen the arrangement of Figures 5 and a suitable porch area 3|". In this arrangement. access to unit 2 from unit I may be gained by a winding stairway such as shown in Figure 11 in which the steps 24 wind to the left. Access to the building proper may be gained through the doorways I1 and IBof the unit I, as will be apparent from Figure 7.

Figure 9 illustrates the units I and 2 arranged in parallel superposed relationship, .Withthe doorway 2i of the unit 2 arranged above and offset to the right of the doorway I] of the unit I. A winding stairway, such ,as disclosed in Figure 11, may be posltioned against the units I and 2, as indicated in dot and dash lines. to provide means for gaining access to unit2 from unit I. When the units are arranged as illusthrough the doorways I6 and I8 of unit I. A

structure having the foregoing arrangement of unitsfis' peculiarly adapted for location upon a long relatively narrow plot of ground.

Figure 10 illustrates still another style of building in whichthe unit 2 lsls'uperposed abovethe unit. I and is arranged at right angles thereto substantially medially of the unit I. With theunits arranged as Illustrated, the unit 2 may be entered by means of a winding stairway similar to that shown in Figure ll, providing access to the doorway 2| of unit 2. By reason of this arrangement, it will be clear that separate entrances are.

provided for the respective units, the lower unit directiy from the outside by means of the winding stairway described, without entering or passing through the lower unit I. As shown in Figure 10, a substantial portion 34 of the unit 2 overhangs the unit I and the overhanging portion 34- is supported by columns 8i. Here too, the overhung area of the ground may be finished to provide a suitable porch surface 36.

In Figures 1, 3, 5 and 7 the location of the ing how the elements-may be wired together toprovide complete independent electric circuits in each of the building units, and how the circuits of the respective units may be connected tolustrated in Figure 4, forexample. I

arranged so that it is also accessible from the gether when the units are secured together to form a complete house. In said view, conventional symbols have been employed to indicate the lights, switches, outlets and junction boxes and since the circuits can be readily understood by persons familiar with the art, a detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In the preferred form of construction, a junction box 31 is located'above the doorwayor opening it of unit I as shown, in Figure 2, for example, and this box is arranged so that access thereto maybe gained from the exterior of the building for connecting the same to the service power line. A second junction box 38 is lo-- cated in the unit I above the doorway as 11- This box is outside andmay serve'as an alternative lead-in box for the service power line.

The unit I is also provided with two junction V boxes I and ll, respectively, the former being arranged above, and the latter arranged below, the doorway ii. The junctionboxes II and ll 01' the units 'I and 2, respectively, may be considered as distributing junction boxes inasmuch as the wiring of the respective building units is connected to the terminals of these boxes. The junction boxes 31 and 3! of the units l and 2, respectively, may, on the other hand, be considered as auxiliary junction boxes since they are connected in parallel with the first mentioned junction boxes for a purpose set out here- Inafter. The distributing junction box I. and the auxiliary junction box 81 oi the unit I are connected in parallel by wires 48 and 43. The

distributing junction box ll and the auxiliaryjunction box I. of the unit 2 are connected in U. M1161 wires M and M.

.By reference to Figure 9.- the relative location of the several junction 'boxes'fl', 38, 'II and 4. I

of the units I and 2 will be apparent. Theobject of arranging the junction boxes as above described is to provide means for conveniently connecting the wiring circuits of the respective units together.

gether. Thusrit will be clear that when the I 16 building units I and 2 are arranged side-by-side as shown'in Figure 1, the distributing junction I box ll of unit I willbe dlsposed'oppositeto the auxiliary junction box" of the unit I so that inordertoconnectthecircmtsoftherecpectlve Garden faucet (not shown).

In some instancesthi's may bedone prior to securing the units themselves to-.

I ma be entered through either 'of'doorways It, I! or I I, and the upper unit 2 may be entered 4i and 4! from one junction box to the other. This is preferably done before the units are secured together. When the units are arranged as specified, a service connection to the power lines is preferably made by wires 45 and I6 conway I of unit I may be connected by wires 41 and II to the, junction box 39 of unit 2 above the doorway II. I

with the relative arrangement of units shown in Figures 6 and 8, the electrical connection from unit I to unit 2 may be made from the junction box of unit I to the junction box 40 of unit 2 by wires 4! and II. It will be understood that in such case the service connection from the power lines will be made with the junction box 38, of unit I. However, the junction box 39 of unit 2 4 may obviously be used in lieu of the box 38, if

preferred.

When the units are arranged in superposed relation, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, the service connection is brought'into the junction box 31 of unit I, and the junction boxes 38 and 40 of the respective units are connected together by wires II and 82. However, it is clear that the service connection may be made .with the junctionbox 3| in lieuoi the box 31 if desired.

It will be apparent from the above, thatthe location 01' the several junction boxes is in harmony with the design of thebuilding unit's I and 2 in that it contributes to thegreat flexibility of arrangement of the building units and at the same time afiords highly convenient outside means for connecting the wiring circuits of the respective units together so that they may be fed from'a common service line.

Figure 13 illustrates the details of the piping and plumbing fixtures of unit I and clearly brings out'the neatness' and the compactness thereof which attributes to the novelty of the invention. In said'figure, a cold water pipe' is generally indicated by the numeral 51 andis pipe 81 includes a shut-oi! valve 59 and is. connected to a branch pipe OI having a valve ii.

The branch pipe 80 extends to the exterior of the building unit and provides a connection for a The pipe 61 is also connected by a pipe 82 to the cold water side of a control valve 03 for a 'tub spout it and a shower need It.- A suitable pipe it connects the cold water line II with a mixing valve 61 carried by the combination sink and tray fixture l. Said cold water line -is also connected by suitable piping C8 to a toilet tank 69, and is further connected by suitable piping III to one valve ll of the lavatory I. The cold water line 51 isalso extended by means of a pipe I! to the heater II which, as has been previously stated, may be oi the electric type. The p rpo ii of connecting the 'cold water line to the heater I3 is so that the heater may be utilized to provide hot water for household purposes. The heated water passes from the heater 13 through a pipe 14 to a hot water storage tank II.

A- hot water line It extends downwardly from thefhot water storage tank "II and is connected overflow pipe 0|v which is connected to adrain .The roof of the units may be formed by fairly thick sheets of plywood I00 fastened to the top,

The'sheets I00 may be protected from the weather by a layer of pro nected by means of a pipe I! with the other side of the mixing valve 01 of the kitchen sink fixture 0. Still another pipe 00 connects the hot water line I0 with the control valve 83 so as to admit'hot water into the tub spout 04 or shower head 00. I

The bathtub 0 is provided with a conventional pipe 02 of the bathtub propenand the drain 82 in turn is connected with a soil pipe 00.

The kitchen fixture 9 comprises a sink portion II and a relatively deep laundrytub portion 00. The tub 00 drains into a pipe 00, and the sink 00 drains into a pipe 01. The pipes .00 and 01 are connected bysuitable piping 08 including a trap 00 to admin fitting 00.

The lavatory I has a drain pipe 0| connected by suitable piping 02, including a drain trap 03, to the drain fitting 00. 'A vent pipe 04 extends upwardly from said fitting and across the pipe well I! and terminates in an enlarged portion 00 which is flush with the exterior surface 00 of the unit I. This vent pipe may be connected to a suitable extension pipe 01 so as to extend the same to any desired height or in any desired direction.

The toilet 01s connected by means of a fitting 00 to the soil pipe 00, and saidsoil pipe may be The object of this is to keep 40' connected at the site with a sewer by any suitable piping 00, a portion of which is indicated by dot and dash lines in Figure 13. The piping for the vent and various water lines is preferably formed from sections of copper tubing and the" fittings, such as elbows, T's, etc., are made of line material to achieve a permanent installation.

It \will be clear from Figure 13, that the soil pipe 03 does not extend below the fioor joist I00.

base portion of the unit so that there will be no projecting pipes which can possibly interfere with the handling and shipping of the unit and which might accidentally be broken during such handlingor while in transit. Attention is also invited to the fact that the pipe 01, which is to be connected to the cold water service. line at the site, also terminates above the bottom edge of the joist I00, I

In order to make the building units more rigid and substantial as a whole so that they can stand considerable handling while being loaded and unloaded from a vehicle and a great deal of jarring while being transported. the joists III are connected to a sill III at the longitudinal sides .of the units. A series of studs II! project upwardly from the sills Ill and form the-framework for the side walls of the unit. The upper end of the studs I02 may besecured to a plate I03, which in turn is secured to roof'rafters IN. The exterior of the units may be formed by sheets of fairly heavy plywood III which are secured to the studs Ill and sills. III by nailin'g or in any other convenient manner. The sheets Ill may be weatherproofed by any weather-proofing com-- pound or paint, or may be covered by a protective sheath of copper, or other metal. The interior the piping above" the to that of the innerside wall sheets I06. These are secured to the under sideof the rafters I04.

side of the rafters I00.

tective material I00 which may be in the form of canvas that has been water-proofed or painted inasmuch as such material provides an adequate although cheap construction, or the same may be protected by a composition, or metal, covering of any suitable nature.

While, no particular manner of securing the building units I and .2 together has been shown in the drawings, itwill be understood that said units may be secured together by any one of a great number of obvious mechanical expedients.

For example, when the units I and 2 are arranged side-by-side, as shown in Figure l, the adjacent sills of the units may be secured together by bolts passing through the same. Moreover, the abutting edges of said units may be covered by strips 'ofmetal, wood, or other suitable material.secured to the exterior of the roof and side walls to thus provide additional means for fastening the units together. when the units are arranged in superposed relationship, some suitable securing means may be used to prevent relative displacement of the units although, due to the weight of unit 2 and the winding stair casing 25 which is secured to both units, such means is not considered necessary. However, if a fastening means is desired, the same may be in the form of strips of angle iron arranged so that one flange thereof is se-- cured to an overhanging portion of unit 2 and the other flange is secured to .a side wall of unit I.

While various embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it will formed in at least one end wall thereof and a second doorway formed in at least one side wall thereof, the other of said units having a doorway formed in at least one side wall thereof, said units, when superposed, being disposed so that the doorway of one unit is vertically offset relatively to a doorway of the other unit, and a stairaffording access from one unit to the other through said offset doorways.

, s JOHN J. WHELAN.

.' way unit exterior of said superposed building units 

